Fastener for identification tags



May 2, 1950 D. H. RoBBlNs FASTENER FOR 'INDENTIFICATION TAGS Filed Dec. 8, 1945 4 4 R 6 4 m @4Z Z n. N w

Patented May 2, 1950 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE FAs'rnNErp ron` rnENrmc-:ATION TAGS Donaldl. Robbins, Brooklyn, N. Y. Application December s, 1945, serial NQ. 633,577

(c1. 24e-15s) Thisinvention relates to 5- a fastener;` particularly to a fastener for holding an identification tag to penetrable material.

Fasteners of this general classare` widelyused intagging many articlesiofwhich clothing tothe dry-cleaned, laundered or stored is anrexample.`

My invention providesan improved f astenen in whicha. tongue is clinched fandheld securely,` between an anchoring member on one sidei and an,

anvil` on the other and,` on, the other hand,` a fastener thatmay be readily openedfor removal or reuse. My invention provides alsoa manner of holding the tongue betweenithe anvil and the anchor so that both the tongue and the anvil.

arereformed in the opening process, to shapes adapting them to reengage each other when the fastener is again put to use.

Theinvention comprises the herein.described` fastener of normally shape-retainingbutbendf able sheet material having face andrback members` each of which have one free end but are united.

at the midportion which, whenthe fastener is closed, becomes the `zone of bending; the` fastener having at one end, an anchor. provided witha hole and. at the other free end atongue, the open-,-

ing and tongue being spaced approximately equiv-- distant from the zone ofbendingso thatthey.` register when the closing is completed; theanchor and the tongue each extending inwardly at `an.` angle of `morethan 90 when measured frorntheV free end of the strip provided with the anchor and tongue, respectively; and thefastenerincluding an anvil portion extending behindthez said opening in the anchor so that,rwhen the fastener is closed, the tongue isclinchedbetween the anvil on one side and the anchor on theother. In the preferred embodiment, which:

adapts the fastener to be opened for being`` ref moved from the garment or for reuse thereare1 projections at the. free ends, beyond `the basesof the anchor and tongue, respectively, and the projections are suitably bent so that `thefreeiends` constitute `tabs flaring outwardly in,the;closed fastener and provide for access `Vto the ,tabsandr thus facilitate the application of a spreading .force tothe fastener. In one embodiment, an identication tag is engaged by passage. of the strip fastenerA through a slot in ,the tag. andthe tag at another p art is fastenedto an inner face .ofthe fastener, so as to keep the tag in alinement with the fastener.

The invention` will be illustrated by description in connection with the examples of the fastener illustrated in the attached drawing to which ref-` erence is made.

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Fig. 1` shows in plan a strip fastener in an intermediate stage in its manufacture or development.

Eig. 2shows a perspective view of the completed-' fastener andidentication tag attached th|ereto, the fastener being in open but' partly folded con:

dition.

Eig. 3. shows in section thefastener and tag.,

the fastener being in open but partly closed posi# tion.

Fig. 4 shows asectionfof an assembly in which` thefastener is completely closed over a sheetV4 material..

Fmshowsa modified formof fastener inthe incomplete or development stage.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of a completed` fastener of the class shown in Fig, 5in open position. and, with identification .tag `engaged `over the fastener.

Fig. I'1f-isa sectionalview of the.assembly/yet,4

Fig. inalmost but notentirely closediposition,v

around a fragment of sheet material.

when` the fastener Aisi put tense.

Bending inwardly ther` material within the: notch l2, provides a: narrow` pointed tongue l8:,

This-tongue is depressed'by less than 90, sothatf it extends at an anglewof morethan? as measured fromlthe `free lend ofthefface portion A211| from l which the: tongue is formed; thel direction of measurement of.` thetangle being shownby` the dottedlineofF'ig.l 3l

Bending inwardly-thematerial beyond the lines1v ofcutting l4of Fig. 1 through more than 909 i forms theanchor 225j nea-r the free end offthev back 24 ofl the# fastener. This anchor formsany angle of more than g with vthe material of theffreeend offthefbackof` the fastener.

In otherwords, bothth'e anchor and the anvil? arem inclined toward the zone of bending `ofth'eVVA fastener; whenthe fastener is bent.

Thefree `ends of the front and back' are-"proan vided with tabs '26 and-28that extendbeyond" the base of theA tongue and anchor, respectively.` These projectionsV provide Vpositions" foraapplynigef` a. spreading force to open the fastener once it has been closed to the position shown, for instance, in Fig. 4. In fact, when the projections flare as there shown they may be held by the fingers and the Whole fastener readily spread ap art manually.

The identication tag or label shown at 3i) suitably is held by means such as the eyelet 32 to the body of the fastener so that alinement of the tag with the fastener is established at all times.

The goods to which the fastener is applied are represented by sheet material 34 of Figs. 4 and 7.

The anchor is provided with opening 36 behind which the material of the back. 2G extends continuously so as to provide an anvil for clinching the tongue I8 when the fastener is completely'- folded together. Suitably this anvil is provided with an elongated depression 3S which serves to guide the tongue E8 as it is being clinched and, by means of the side Walls of the depression, prevents lateral slipping of the tongue after it is engaged between the anvil and the anchor.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the bendable strip material is out out at notches 40 and 42 so as to form a zone of weakness and establish in advance the position of folding of the strip when the bending pressure is applied. In this form, the sheet material is cut at positions corresponding to the solid lines 4d and de and the cut parts are then bent as shown in Fig. 6 to give in the face portion the tongue t3 and in the back the anchor 50 provided with a generally rounded opening. In this form also parts of the free ends 52 and 56 project so asto give finger holds for opening the fastenerl after it has been clinched. The identification label is engaged by means of a slot 58 over the strip material.

The operation of the fastener will be largely evident from the description of it that has been given. After the label 33 or 5S of cloth, paper, cellophane, or the like has been applied, the fastener is'inserted over the edge of the textile, paper, or other goods to be marked and then the f'ree ends of the fastener are forced together. The narrow tongue I8 or 158 is thus caused to perforate the goods and to extend through the fastener causes the tongue to be bent Vwith its' point extending towards the zone of folding at th' midpoint of the fastener- Furthermore this pressure completes the bending of the anchor so that the anchor rests directly upon the tongue as shown, for instance, in Fig. 4. The tongue is made therefore to conform rourhly at least to the anchor on one side and on the other the anvil. When it is desired to open the fastener, then the application of properly directed hand pressure, for instance, to, parts 26 and 2B (Fig. 4) cause the face and back to move away from each other. The pull on the tongue E8 or d3 and the anchor 22 or 5B is such that both the tonfueand the anchor in the given assembly are flexed and restored approximately to their original angles such, for example, as shown in Figs. 3 and 6, or at least so near to those angles that the fastener may be reinserted over sheet material for reuse and the tongue again clinched by forcing together the free ends of the fastener.

It Will be noted as from Fig. 2 that the one 2S of the said tab portions-which is adjacent to the anchor 22 is in reality struck out from the anchor. This means that this part 28 at its base is of the same Iwidth as the Width of the opening 3b at the position of meeting of the anchor with the back of the fastener and that the said part is in line or registration with the opening. If, due to a slight error in the shaping of the fastener, the tongue I8 should miss the back of the fastener during the clinching operation, this tongue IB would strike the part 2t and be directed by it behind the anchor 22.

It will be noted also from Fig. 2 that the anchor is notched so that the amount of material on the line of bending of the anchor, that is at the position of meeting with the back 24, is at a minimum. This introduces a zone of weakness and lestablishes theline of bending during clinching,

i.' e., along the weak'zone at the base of the notch, onthe line of meeting of the anchor with the back 24.

The apparatus 'is inexpensive and simple in its construction.Y When closed upon the goods it holds firmly and securely. On the other hand, the face and back of the fastener after being fully closed are readily spread apart and restored to conditions for reuse.

It will be understood that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of illustration which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A reusable fastener of bendable but normally shape retaining sheet material comprising face and back members that are generally flat, have each a free end, and at the other end are united in a zone of folding when the fastener is in use; an anchor element extending inwardly from a position near the end of the back and at an angle of -more than 90 from the material of the said end and provided with an opening, the opening extending to thesaid position at which the anchor element meets the back so as to `weaken the anchor at this position and promote bending at this positionduring clinching of the fastener; a tong'fueV extending inwardly from a position near the end of the face at an angle of more than 90 with the material of the end of the face, the opening in the anchor and the tongue being spaced approximately equidistant from the said zone of folding, so that the tongue will enter the opening when the ends of the face and back are forced neartogether by folding; an anvil part disposed back of the opening so as to clinch the tongue in sealing position,between the anchor and the anvil during said folding; and tab por tions of the free ends of the face and back extending beyond the bases of the anchor and tongue, respectively, so as to provide members for the application of force to spread apart the free ends ywhen it is desired to open the previously closed faztener.

2.` fastener as described in claim l, the tongue being narrow and pointed, the said opening being enclosed on all sides by material of the anchor, the anchor being generally flat, so that, when the tongue is. clinched in the completed folded as slembly, the tongue approximately conforms on one side with the anchor and on the other side with the anvil, and the one of the tab portions adjacent to theanchor being of width at its base approximately equal to that of the said opening at the potition of meeting of the anchor element ing, so that the said one of the tab portions serves as a guide for the tongue during clinching of REFERENCES CITED the fastener. Th f 11 i f d n he 3. A fastener as described in claim 1, the said me oef tliswptr erences are of recor i t tab members aring in direction away from each other 'when the fastener is completely folded, so 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS as to provide accessibility to the tabs. Number Name Date 4. A fastener as described in claim 1, the anvil 731,827 Washburne June 23, 1903 being provided with an elongated depression t0 917,010 Coy Apr. 8, 1909 receive the tongue and decrease lateral slipping 1,174,033 Abbott Mar. 7, 1916 of the tongue after clinching. 10 1,177,051 Possner Mar. 28, 1916 DONALD H. ROBBINS. 1,822.421 Rench Sept. 8, 1931 

